In this article, Rachael Gacs sits down with Matthew Crawford, CEO of Embark Federation, and Rosie McLaughlin, Embark’s Fundraising and Events Lead, to discuss the trust’s approach to partnership working, enrichment and income generation. They consider how investing in a dedicated fundraising and events role has both supported the trust’s enrichment activities for children and continued to develop through a period of significant trust growth.
Since its establishment, Embark Federation has developed a strong focus on partnership working and enrichment, using external funding, sponsorship and wider collaboration to create additional opportunities and experiences for children and young people across its schools. This has required a deliberate and strategic approach to fundraising and partnership working.
Alongside supporting trust-wide events and enrichment activity, this work has also contributed to the development of long-term partnerships with organisations both within and beyond the education sector. Central to this approach has been the dedicated fundraising and events role, supporting the trust to secure additional funding, develop external relationships and coordinate enrichment opportunities across all 28 schools within the trust.
The origins of Embark’s fundraising and partnership approach
Embark’s focus on fundraising and building partnerships began very early in the trust’s journey, at a point when the organisation was still relatively small, but already ambitious about the opportunities it wanted to create for children and young people. “At that time, we’d got 1,600 children across seven primary schools and lots of big ideas,” says Matt. “We were really thinking about how we could create wider opportunities and experiences for children across the trust, and how we could bring those ideas to life.” Matt describes attending a Forum Strategy roundtable event shortly after Embark was established, where academy trusts were discussing different approaches to income generation and strategic partnership working. It was during these discussions around fundraising and sponsorship that the idea for a dedicated role within Embark first began to take shape. “I came away buzzing from that event,” says Matt. “I remember thinking that if we could find the right person, even if the role only covered its own costs to start with, it would still be worth exploring.”
“We were really thinking about how we could create wider opportunities and experiences for children across the trust, and how we could bring those ideas to life.”
